H.S. Newins-E.A. Ziegler Hall

Honoree

Harold S. Newins

Harold S. Newins was born on Long Island, NY in 1887. He received his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College in 1909 and his graduate degree from Yale University in 1911.After graduation, Newins worked for the U.S. Forest Service and accepted a professorship at Oregon State College. He taught at Pennsylvania State and Michigan State universities before accepting a position at the University of Florida. In 1935, Newins was hired by UF to head a one man forestry department. By the time of his retirement in 1951, the Department of Forestry was elevated to the status of School of Forestry.

His teaching career spanned 35 years, enduring brief interruptions when he became a State Forester of West Virginia, an Inspector of Emergency Conservation Work Camps in Michigan (officially changed to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937), and an aircraft inspector during World War I.

Devoted to the science and research of forestry, Newins was active in numerous professional organizations including the Society of American Foresters, American Association for Advancement of Science, the American Forestry Association, the Florida Forest and Park Association and Xi Sigma honorary forestry fraternity.

A native of Pennsylvania, Edwin Allen Ziegler spent much of his life in the northeast. Born in 1880, Ziegler received his education from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. His forestry career began with the U.S. Forest Service in 1903. Later, he became a professor and then director of the Pennsylvania State Forest School at Mont Alto. Ziegler was appointed Senior Forest Economist of the USDA’s Southern Forest Exp. Station and a senior researcher for the state of Pennsylvania. He also directed the Pennsylvania Forest Research Institute and the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy.

As a reserve artillery officer during WWI, Ziegler rose to the rank of colonel while in the U.S. Army. Ziegler came to UF in 1937 bringing with him the prestige of an accomplished leader and scientist.In 1945, Zeigler took a leave of absence from UF to work with the War Production Board as an industrial specialist, serving as Chief of Lumber Distribution for the board. Throughout his 14-year career at UF, Ziegler was instrumental in the growth and development of today's School of Forestry.

Facility History

Newins-Ziegler Hall is home to the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, an academic unit of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. It houses the laboratories for GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing; Forest Biotechnology; Forest Ecology; Forest Genetics; Forest Health; Forest Hydrology; Forest Physiology; Silviculture and Forest Nutrition. It was named for Harold S. Newins and Edwin A. Ziegler.